''Eucalyptus dura'' is a species of small to medium sized tree that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to south-eastern Queensland. It has rough, dark grey to black "ironbark", lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, white flowers and conical fruit.

Description

''Eucalyptus dura'' is a tree that typically grows to a height of and forms a

lignotuber A lignotuber is a woody swelling of the root crown possessed by some plants as a protection against destruction of the plant stem, such as by fire. Other woody plants may develop basal burls as a similar survival strategy, often as a response t ...

. It has dark grey to black ironbark on the trunk and larger branches, smooth grey to cream-coloured bark on branches less than in diameter. Young plants and

coppice Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management which exploits the capacity of many species of trees to put out new shoots from their stump or roots if cut down. In a coppiced wood, which is called a copse, young tree stems are repeated ...

regrowth have lance-shaped to egg-shaped leaves long and wide. Adult leaves are lance-shaped, sometimes curved, long and wide on a petiole long. The leaves are the same or a similar glossy green on both sides. The flower buds are arranged in groups of seven on the end of branchlets on a branched peduncle long, the individual buds on a

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

long. Mature buds are oval to pear-shaped, long and wide with a conical operculum that is narrower and shorter than the

floral cup In angiosperms, a hypanthium or floral cup is a structure where basal portions of the calyx, the corolla, and the stamens form a cup-shaped tube. It is sometimes called a floral tube, a term that is also used for corolla tube and calyx tube. It ...

. Flowering mainly occurs from April to June and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody, conical capsule long and wide on a pedicel long with the valves below the level of the rim.

Taxonomy and naming

''Eucalyptus dura'' was first formally described in 1991 by

Lawrie Johnson Lawrence Alexander Sidney Johnson Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, FAA, (26 June 1925 – 1 August 1997) known as Lawrie Johnson, was an Australian Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic botany, botanist. He worked at the Royal Botanic Garden ...

and Ken Hill from a specimen collected from Turkey Mountain in the Barakula State Forest in 1984. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''dura'') is a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word meaning "hard" or "tough", referring to the bark of this tree.

Distribution and habitat

This ironbark grows in grassy and dry forests in sandy soil, usually on higher places. It occurs between the

Biggenden Biggenden is a rural town and locality in the North Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Biggenden had a population of 845 people. Geography Biggenden is on the Isis Highway north-west of the state capital Brisbane, and west of ...

Chinchilla Chinchillas are either of two species (''Chinchilla chinchilla'' and ''Chinchilla lanigera'') of crepuscular rodents of the parvorder Caviomorpha. They are slightly larger and more robust than ground squirrels, and are native to the Andes mount ...

and Boonah districts in south-east Queensland.

Uses

Essential oils

The leaves of ''E. dura'' are rich in oils, particularly β-phellandrene and 1,8-cineole. These oils may be suitable for development of a

bacteriostat A bacteriostatic agent or bacteriostat, abbreviated Bstatic, is a biological or chemical agent that stops bacteria from reproducing, while not necessarily killing them otherwise. Depending on their application, bacteriostatic antibiotics, disinfect ...

Photo gallery

File:Eucalyptus-dura-main-trunk-bark.jpg, Deeply furrowed, tough bark from the lower trunk of ''Eucalyptus dura'' File:Eucalyptus-dura-gum-top.jpg, Smaller branches of ''E. dura'' are smooth and silvery-grey near the canopy. File:Eucalyptus-dura-capsules.jpg, Small, conical capsules with ribs of ''E. dura''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15397379 dura Myrtales of Australia Flora of Queensland Trees of Australia Plants described in 1991 Taxa named by Lawrence Alexander Sidney Johnson Taxa named by Ken Hill (botanist)